Brief description
This module is concerned with the contribution of philosophical analysis to curriculum planning.

Aims of the module

• To provide a brief introduction to the historical development of curriculum theory.

• To introduce students to some of the main theories that have been used to justify the selection of the content of a curriculum.

• To put students in possession of such theoretical knowledge as to enable them to make a well-informed and rational contribution to the debate on the content of a curriculum.

Syllabus
The lectures are based on the following topics:

• Classical Humanism;
• Romantic Progressivism;
• Reconstructionism.
• The subject-based approach:
• the subject as a map (Dewey);
• the subject as a discipline (Bruner).
• The requirement of culture as a principle of selection:
• the emphasis on the classical curriculum (Bantock);
• the reconstructionist view emphasising common core cultural invariants (Lawton).
• The Forms of Knowledge standpoint (Hirst).
• The Process versus Product controversy in education.

The tutorials provide further opportunities to investigate and explore the themes in the lectures.